'Chettan’s maiden ODI hundred': How Rajasthan Royals revered captain Sanju Samson's ton

Sanju Samson scored his maiden ODI century against South Africa at the Paarl on Thursday. With the series levelled 1-1, Sanju’s 114-ball 108 was crucial for India after being asked to bat first by the home side.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals, Sanju Samson’s IPL side, went all guns blazing on social media as they revered their captain’s maiden ODI century.

A series of posts on Rajasthan Royals’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, celebrating Samson’s brilliant knock have gone viral. RR began with the iconic Superman meme — the one in which Henry Cavill’s face gets replaced with the Saviour’s — depending on the situation. 

"100* FOR SANJU SAMSON," the meme with Superman Sanju was captioned.

Fun then made way for pun. A witty oneliner that followed the meme read, "Sanju *𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠* Samson" It was an obvious reference to Samson finally flexing his muscles and living up to his potential. Samson failed to find a place in India’s 2023 ODI World Cup squad despite a statistical superiority over Suryakumar Yadav (ahead of the WC) in the 50-over format.

"Chettan’s maiden ODI hundred!," the next post alongside a pink heart and happy tears emoticon read. It showed Sanju Samson raising his bat after crossing the three-digit mark while an enthusiastic Yuzi Chahal, another Royal, applauded from the stands. "Chettan" means elder brother in Malayalam — Samson’s mother tongue. 

Malayalam was succeeded by Hindi. "Koi pooche toh batana, Sanju aaye hai," the post that showed Sanju giving a thumps up while in the middle was captioned. The caption translates to "If someone asks, tell them Sanju has arrived!"

Finally, Rajasthan Royals shared the moment Sanju crossed the landmark off a Keshav Maharaj delivery. “This is gonna be a day he’ll remember for a long time,” the post read.

India reached 296/8 in 50 overs. Apart from Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma (52 off 77) and Rinku Singh (38 off 27) made valuable contributions for India.